3 NIU shooting victims to get posthumous degrees

"I'm still very, very sad," she said, her voice breaking. "I'm devastated."

Earlier Saturday, Dubowski had walked onto an auditorium stage to accept a posthumous degree for her daughter Gayle Dubowski, one of five students killed in a geology class in the red-bricked Cole Hall on Feb. 14.

In all, three of the five students shot dead received posthumous degrees on Saturday. Families of the other two said they would accept degrees later.

The 20-year-old Gayle Dubowski was among the first to receive a degree at commencement ceremonies, and hundreds of seniors stood to cheer as her name was read. NIU's president gave her mother, father and brother each a hug as they came on stage.

The school did not plan separate events marking the killings, apparently wanting to make the day as joyous as possible for the more than 3,000 students receiving degrees.

School President John Peters mentioned the tragedy only indirectly in remarks at the first of three commencement services Saturday, saying the soon-to-be graduates had lived through "great triumph and great tragedy."

"All of us have received the bittersweet gift of perspective," he said, addressing students in a black commencement gown. "We cannot control the circumstances of this gift of perspective, but each of us can decide how to use it."

A moment of silence was held at the start of the morning ceremony "for those who are not here with us today," but the shootings were not specifically mentioned.

The other victims whose families accepted posthumous degrees during an evening ceremony were Catalina Garcia, a 20-year-old elementary education major from Cicero, and Julianna Gehant, a 32-year-old from Meriden who arrived at NIU after a stint in the U.S. Army. Gehant also studied elementary education.